Why are overweight / obese people reluctant to exercise?

After seeing posts from many, many MFPers about how they are reluctant / embarrassed to go out running or go to the gym, I decided to do a little research and see if there were any studies about social stigma and exercise. It ended up being interesting enough that I posted it to Science-Based Running.

I'm posting it here because I figured some MFPers would be interested as well.

Here's a snippet:

Despite the amazing support I received from these communities, I’ve also noticed that many people in similar circumstances are self-conscious about exercising. Locally, I’ve heard from lots of folks who don’t want to join our running group because it is “too intimidating.” On the myfitnesspal message boards, there are dozens of stories every day from overweight / obese people who won’t go outside to run, or who are uncomfortable going to the gym, because they are worried that others will mock them.
Could it be that the same powerful social forces that helped me get in shape are, paradoxically, preventing many others from participating in exercise?

Full article here:

http://sciencebasedrunning.com/2013/10/is-stigma-stopping-exercise-in-obese-people/

1. Paradoxically, a lot of people for some reason, like to make fun of overweight people for going to the gym, or jogging, or working out. Hence, why they don't like going to the gym, or jogging around people, or working out around people. Working out at home might not be as motivating.

2. Laziness? a possibility.

3. If they are too large to actually move, then it's really hard to actually work out. You can't burn calories if you can't actually move adequately enough.

At least I'm doing something about my health, no amount of weights can fix them being an a**hole.

^That was awesome. And good for you!

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<FAT and works out like a beast!

^^^^^ This

> not overweight or fat and still reluctant to exercise. oops.

Obese people who don't know how to exercise, or have poor cardiovascular health, suck at it.

No one likes to go to a public place dedicated to a certain activity and proceed to visibly and obviously suck at that activity.

Plus, exercise is hard.

I don't exercise at a gym and I don't run outside. I hope to change that some day but for now I will run on my treadmill and exercise in my home gym. I think some people are very harsh in their criticism of others.

I'm mostly going to echo what others have said.

Many, perhaps most, people find exercise unpleasant. And when you are obese it is 100x more unpleasant. So it isn't like, even under the best of circumstances, you start exercising and say "Wow, this is great! I'm so motivated to get out there every day." It's a struggle. Now if you keep with it then it becomes addictive. Or maybe you find something you really like to do. But mostly as you lose the weight and get in better shape things get easier and less unpleasant and the motivation goes up.

To put this in a concrete perspective, 35 pounds ago running would have caused so much problem to my feet and ankles that it would have taken Vicodin to let me sleep. Today I'm working my way through the C25K program and don't take anything. But that's after four months of exercise in addition to the weight loss. It took a decade to get myself motivated enough to push through what I was sure was an impossible block to my exercising (as one doctor, after looking at my feet, put it "God wasn't kind to you").

The psychological part is a big factor until/unless you start to love exercising. And saying people need to just put that out of the way and do it is both naïve at best. I would guess less than 10% of the people who need to make a change like this are actually capable of just doing it. And life is waiting out there to try to sabotage anyone who really gives it a try.

But here is what I don't get about this comment stream. In my experience I've found the gym a pretty accepting place to risk exposing my body, klutziness, and lack of fitness. Granted some personal trainers are so into working with people who are already fit that they aren't the most appropriate for people in the early stages of exercising. On the other hand, plenty of them seem more than happy and capable of helping anyone who wants their help. And unless you go to the wrong gym, at least half the people at the gym are in exactly the same situation as you. Basically I find most people at a gym are happy to see you trying and want to see you succeed. Maybe I'm just good at picking where I work out. I was OK at 24 Hour fitness. I'm perfectly at home at the YMCA. Noobs should head to the Y.

I'm over weight and I've been working out for years! I think it's funny when those bean poles come into the gym and see me curling 50lb dumbells, benching 225 6-8 times, doing 200+lb ab presses and 170lb pull downs; 315lb squats; 400 lb leg presses; 120lb hamstring presses and EVEN 25min 3.5mph brisk walks for cardio. So your argument is sterotypical at best. I'm living proof that exercise alone is NOT enough. My doc says that I have good muscle tone but that it is covered up in fat! I look more like Kamala than the Rock. I'm back to MFP now and I'm getting rid of the "table muscle"! Not all fat people are reluctant to exercise.

At 360 pounds I was enjoying the view from the top of a mountain and was asked sincerely by someone how I got up there... They simply couldn't believe that a person of my size could/or would want to make that hike...

I find it hilarious when people try to give fatties advice on how to lose weight assuming that we're all couch potatoes.. if all I needed to do was "walk 10 minutes after dinner", "park in the furthest spot" and "quit soda" I'd be twiggy right now. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, MY STRUGGLE IS, WAS, and ALWAYS WILL BE in the KITCHEN, not in the GYM!

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At 360 pounds I was enjoying the view from the top of a mountain and was asked sincerely by someone how I got up there... They simply couldn't believe that a person of my size could/or would want to make that hike...

I find it hilarious when people try to give fatties advice on how to lose weight assuming that we're all couch potatoes.. if all I needed to do was "walk 10 minutes after dinner", "park in the furthest spot" and "quit soda" I'd be twiggy right now. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, MY STRUGGLE IS, WAS, and ALWAYS WILL BE in the KITCHEN, not in the GYM!
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Hear Hear!

I too am in that seriously obese category- but I used to be an exercise fiend before my kids (which I had really late in life). I really don't care what other people think or say, my answer would be to them, "Well you get your skinny *ss moving a little faster, because if this fat old lady can do it- you had better being doing double time!"

But seriously I think some of you should find a nicer place to live- no one has ever yelled at me out of a car window, or thrown anything....yet!
But watching the calories through MFP and walking 6-7 miles a week has taken off almost 40 lbs in a relatively short time- so fiendishness is back in sight!

Just found out I have to do 4 group/class exercises... not looking forward to that.